Skepta Keeps to His Halloween Tradition with Surprise EP 'Vicious'

There are some things you can expect from Halloween. Your most annoying housemate carving a pumpkin and declaring that "we can make a soup out of the pulp!" before leaving the pulp in the fridge until nobody can open the door without gagging. Big lads who look too old to be trick or treating, knocking on your door for five minutes straight before going away because you refuse to answer. Someone wearing cat ears to work. Halloween, man.

But there is another, much better Halloween tradition that has emerged over the last few years, too. Skepta has developed a habit of dropping new music over the most sinister holiday (2016 and 2014 both saw new Skepta music on October 31) and this year, fortunately, is no different. New EP Vicious, with features from Section Boyz, Lil B, A$AP Rocky, and A$AP Nast came out overnight.

The EP collects last year's Halloween tracks—"No Security" and "Worst" with Section Boyz—in one place, with standalone release "Hypocrisy." They're placed alongside new solo track "Still," which acts as a re-assertion of dominance after Skep's recent fairly dormant period (while he's been stepping hard into fashion and hanging out with Mick Jagger). Vicious works as a cool way of putting odds and ends from the last couple of years together, and, with guest spots from artists on both sides of the Atlantic, it also gives Skepta the opportunity to flex his muscles as a genuine rap world kingpin, which is exactly what he deserves.